Due to some weird cuts and expansions, I'm combining chapters 49 and 50. Finals are coming up in four weeks and I don't even know what I'm doing anymore.

Friday morning, Cedric sat down next to Hermione and held up pretty blue stationary that was obviously scented with a pretty smelling perfume.

"We got a reply from Fleur," said Cedric. "Apparently, we asked the same question.

Dear Hermione and Cedric,

I cannot believe they would bring Dementors to your school! They are unreliable and will follow anyone who can promise them happiness to consume. Madam Maxime would not stand for that. Why can they not send in your Aurors to guard the school? Certainly, they can set up new wards that will alert of any new person crossing the grounds.

If you need to switch schools, I am certain Madam Maxime would allow two brilliant students such as yourselves into Beauxbatons. Not many fourth years can turn whistles into singing watches.

Everything is going well at Beauxbatons and I have joined the Dueling Club just as ma mère did. I think I have a very good chance of becoming Captain next year. Perhaps you can write a few more of those spells you know. Could bring a nasty surprise to a few of the others who underestimate me thinking all I care about is my beauty. I know you don't care about such things.

"Why do I get the feeling you and Fleur write often?" Hermione asked with a smirk.

"She's nice and we're just friends," said Cedric.

"And she's just flirting with you over letters," she replied waggling her eyebrows. "Sounds like I don't write her nearly as much as she writes you."

"Gee, could you have said that a little louder?" he teased.

"Most definitely."

Cedric chuckled and elbowed her gently. "At least we had the same train of thought. Maybe we should suggest the Aurors and ward thing to Dumbledore."

"Yeah," she said, nodding then paused and shook her head. "You saw how Minister Fudge reacted last year. I think he's prepared to maintain the extreme to try and keep the Basilisk off his repertoire."

"Mm… yeah, you're right."

"Hi, Cedric," an attractive girl called as she passed, her friends giggling behind her as they eyed the handsome Hufflepuff. One tossed her hair and wiggled her fingers in greeting.

"Hello," Cedric replied.

"Hi, Cedric," said Hermione in a high-pitched voice once they were gone. She flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Toss. Toss."

"Shut up," he laughed.

"Jumping back into the dating world?" she asked mussing up his hair, so the back stuck up weird.

"I think so," he said, quickly fixing it. "I rather like dating."

"Let me know if you need a wingman."

"Worked out well the last time," he said. "Even if the relationship didn't."

Hermione turned serious, then sympathetic.

"Yeah. It's too bad. I liked Cho." She checked her watch and closed her book. "I better get to class. I'll let you respond to Fleur, just tell her I said salut."

"I will."

Hermione and Ron's first class for Ancient Runes was on Friday after Charms. Harry bid farewell to them both.

"I'm going to talk to Professor Lupin," said Harry. "See you in an hour."

"See you later, mate," said Ron.

Hermione and Ron walked side-by-side to get to their Ancient Runes class. Hermione knew exactly where it was from her explorations.

The class was quite a bit smaller, since there wasn't as high of a sign up for ancient runes with three rows of long, work tables rather than individual desks. There was a white sheet hanging from the ceiling behind the blackboard and a slide show projector in the back of the room. The walls had several scrolls that said the same phrase over and over in different ancient languages: Never tickle a sleeping dragon. The tall windows had rolled up black out curtains at the top and overlooked the Forbidden Forest. There were eight people in their class including Hermione and Ron. Padma Patil, Anthony Goldstein, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Susan Bones, and Su Li (Ravenclaw).

There was a bit of silent argument over where they would sit, but the pair of Gryffindor eventually agreed in the middle of the classroom.

Once she was settled, Hermione pulled out her textbook and notebook. The only class she ever took notes on quill and parchment anymore was Snape's class and that was just because he was jerk and wouldn't let her use her muggle note taking supplies.

Professor Babbling, a beautiful, black woman with short hair entered the classroom in red robes with gold and black trimming. She went to her desk and sorted everything for that day's lesson until everyone settled down. From what Cedric said, she was witty, made class interesting, and liked to sing. She also often made up songs to help people memorize their runes.

"Good morning, class," she said brightly, her voice lilting and pleasant like a flute. "I'm pleased to see all of you. Right now, I am going to set some ground rules. One, there are no stupid questions. You don't understand something? Tell me. We will not move on until everyone understands. Two, there will be no unkind words in this class. Three, I expect homework to be done on time, I will make exceptions in extreme cases. Four, please participate. There will be plenty of opportunities for this, especially during our study days before each in-class exam. And five, come to class on time because I refuse to waste time on lectures about wasting time. I will now call roll."

Once everyone's name was called, Professor Babbling flicked her wand and summoned the projector to her.

"Many people don't bother with Runes, because they think it's difficult to learn and therefore not worth their time," said Professor Babbling. "However, Runes are essential in magical artifacts and even with Wizard identifications. Each Witch and Wizard has a specific set of runes much like a muggle social security number. Now, please take out your wands. In the front corner of your desk, you will find a magnifying glass."

There was a bit of rustling as everyone drew their wands and laid them on their desks.

"Please, look closely along the base before the handle," she said. "What do you see?"

"Runes," said Ron looking fascinated.

"Exactly," she said. "Runes are what make your wands work the way they do. Plus, all that fine detailing is what makes them so expensive."

A couple people laughed lightly.

"You may put your wands away," she flicked her own wand and the curtains fell closed. The only light came from candles at the edge of their desks, so they could see to take their notes.

"Today, we will start with the alphabet and numerology," said Professor Babbling. "Alphabets vary from language to language and even similar letters can have different pronunciations. Can anyone give me an example? Yes, Miss Granger?"

"The letter 'h' is pronounced 'haitch' for english, 'hache' for Spanish, and 'ahsh" for French."

"Very good, two-point-five points for Gryffindor," said Professor Babbling. Hermione blinked in surprise, but before she could question the point-system, the professor had already moved on. "Please pay attention to the following slides for they will include your rune pronunciation."

As they went through the alphabet, she had them pronounce the letters out loud. When they had written down and gone through the entire lecture, she raised the curtains, sat on her desk, and produced what looked like a lyre except it had about 30 strings and was oddly shaped.

"Now, I will teach you a song that will help with your memorization."

Draco Malfoy snorted and Professor Babbling frowned.

"Do you find something amusing, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

"Well, I don't see how a song is going to help us," said Draco. "Professor."

"Ye of little faith, perhaps there's another alphabet song we all learned as children," she strummed a chord. "A-B-C-D-E-F-G…"

Hermione and Ron joined in and the others followed on the verge of laughter. Their professor smiled at Malfoy.

"Does that answer your question, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, professor," he said quietly.

She strummed a couple of chords. "I will sing it through once and then you can follow."

At the end of the lesson, Professor Babbling assigned their homework.

"Please, practice writing out and memorizing your alphabet. If you have the means and continue to stay in my class, I recommend getting stamps for the numerals as they can be a little tricky to draw. Class dismissed."

"You know, I think I might actually like Ancient Runes," said Ron as they left the classroom. "I think Bill has an extra set of those stamps she was talking about. Maybe I'll write to him and ask if I can have them."

Hermione smiled, pleased at his enthusiasm. It was nice that they could bond over something.

After class they went to the library where they found Luna researching about vanishing objects rather than the Charms essay she was supposed to be writing.

"Hello, Luna," said Hermione. "How's life?"

"Interesting, thank you," she replied. "Have you had your Runes lesson yet?"

"Yeah, it's great," said Ron, jumping into the conversation.

It was nice to see Ron eager about something school related. Hermione hoped the excitement would continue throughout the year and not diminish with work load. It seemed to be related to his low self-image in the shadow of all his brothers' accomplishments.

Hermione closed her Botany textbook and quietly got dressed. It was a long and sleepless night, but nothing new. It was hard to get a good night's sleep when you couldn't shut your brain off or put snoring roommates on mute. Crookshanks meowed in protest when she pulled her jacket out from underneath him, but quickly rolled over and went back to sleep. While the tour wouldn't start for another two hours, Hermione wanted to do a quick, backwards run through of her route as well as pick up the maps from Professor Flitwick.

The Charms professor was in his office ready for her and it would seem that he was an early riser as well, though for a different reason, for he was bright and energetic despite the obscene hour.

"Good morning, Miss Granger," he said cheerfully presenting her with a big basket of Hogwarts maps.

They were on a sturdy, water-resistant parchment, bound together in a small pamphlet with lines on the opposite page of each floor for easy note taking. Each of the seven floors was inked in a different color to help distinguish where they were at and the map of the grounds was on the back page. There were also markers like significant portraits or statues listed and timers counting down to when the staircases would move.

While any map was useful, not all people could follow one unless they had been to a place at least once. This tour would give them all an idea as to where everything was, as well as a history lesson of the castle.

"Thank you for assembling all this, professor," said Hermione, taking the basket from him.

"It is no problem whatsoever," said Professor Flitwick. "I only wish somebody would have done this my first year. So long ago, but so many fond memories."

After a quick breakfast of toast, eggs, and a sliced banana, Hermione set up in the Great Hall. The Prefects were to make sure that all of the first years showed up on time to receive their maps and participate in the tour. There were about sixty-five of them and the numbers next year were sure to be even bigger. Post-War Baby Boomers.

Hermione was approached by a girl with curly, black hair and a prominent nose.

"Tabatha St. Vincent," she said cordially, sticking out a hand. "Slytherin Prefect and Fifth-Year. I was hoping to join you on this tour. Next year's class is going to be rather big and perhaps it would be better if we can divide them up into groups. Randomized, of course."

"Nice to meet you, Tabatha," said Hermione, shaking her hand. "I don't mind at all."

Saorise O'Brannaghan from Ravenclaw and Cedric were joining as well so they could help out next year. Hermione handed them stacks of maps to pass around to each of the first years. She then stared at her watch, waiting until the minute hand ticked onto 12.

"Attention. Attention please," she called, quieting everybody down. She cleared her throat and began her rehearsed tour. "Good morning everyone and once again I would like to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before we begin, I would like to ask you to please stay with the group, do not lose your maps, and we won't be able to go inside every room, but I will point out particularly interesting areas to you.

"If you have a question, please raise your hand and I will happily answer. This is a basic informational tour and little pencils have been provided for note taking so you can mark down any places you'd like to visit later or learn more about. We should be done in time for lunch. Got it?"

When they nodded their heads, she continued.

"We begin our tour in the Entrance Hall. To your right is the basement which leads to the Hufflepuff Common Room as well as the school kitchens. The school kitchens are run by house-elves. The house-elves are the ones who cook all of your meals, wash your clothes, and clean your common rooms. Fun fact: Helga Hufflepuff brought them here to protect them from abuse and they use all of her original recipes when they feed us. They are very sweet and appreciate gifts of honey."

One Ravenclaw boy raised his hand and asked the age-old question. "Why should we?"

"Imagine having to pick up after a couple hundred teenage boys. Gross," said Hermione. She glanced at Cedric. "No offense."

He shrugged. "None taken."

"Moving on."

Hermione led an odd little parade around the castle even taking them past the trophy room in the Great Hall and telling them all about the history and noting several portraits that were left with information of the person they were depicting.

"Did you know that Hogwarts didn't always look like this?" said Hermione. "You notice that there is gothic architecture as well as Byzantine, Roman, and Medieval architecture. When Hogwarts was first established in the late tenth century, it began as a Keep and expanded from there. When you only have less than a hundred students, you don't need that much space. The oldest parts of the castle are the Great Hall, The Dungeons, Gryffindor Tower, and the Kitchens, as well as the East wing which was the only wing until the fifteenth century when school numbers grew to the point of expansion by Headmistress Frideswide Aberdyfi, who was also a magical architect. She gave Hogwarts its shape. In the early 1900s, plumbing was added to the school, creating more hygienic conditions. The newest parts of the grounds are the Quidditch Pitch, Ravenclaw Tower, and the Library.

"Back in the forties, during World War II, or as you wizards know it, Grindelwald's War, muggle German pilots were steered off course. Due to its unplottability, Hogwarts moves about in a space of 80 kilometers North, East, West, and South year-by-year. This disrupts the earth and atmosphere and can cause muggle navigation instruments to go haywire. Rather than bomb the Scottish town they were supposed to, Hogwarts accidentally moved in the way and was hit instead. This resulted in the deaths of twenty students and one professor. Those parts of the Castle were rebuilt and a team of Runic and Arithmantic experts designed a ward that creates an atmospheric imbalance so that pilots of airplanes are forced to go around this spot— yes?"

A chubby, cherub like girl lowered her hand. "My cousin is a Wiccan and her mum says that witches dance naked under the full moon. Is… is that true?"

The first years all turned their expectant eyes to Hermione who clicked her tongue against her front teeth.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "The nudity is entirely optional."

Cedric's gasped and broke into hysterics. Saorise and Tabatha howled with laughter, leaning against each other and clutching their sides. The first years realized it was a joke and joined in on the laughter. Hermione bit her lip, pleased that they found her funny.

"Alright, alright," she said, waving her hands to get them back on track. "Lot's to see. Ced. Bruv. Can you breathe?"

Cedric sucked in a deep breath and picked himself up off the ground. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

The students were quiet and respectful yet there was a handful that were particularly excited and asked millions of questions. Dennis Creevey, Colin's little brother, was among them. Dennis seemed to have an adoration of photography like his brother and kept taking photos during the tour. Hermione didn't care much that he kept taking pictures of her in front of paintings or suits of armor or whatnot, but she wasn't about to shut him down. She didn't point out any of the secret passages to them, because if she did then they wouldn't be secret.

"Can we visit any of the other Common Rooms?" one boy asked.

"Well… I think it depends," said Hermione choosing her words carefully. "Yes, all of the rooms have a way to enter, but none of them are hidden. And, honestly, with Gryffindor, everybody learns the password because we have to practically shout it to get the Fat Lady's attention. Ravenclaw, you can visit as long as you can solve a riddle, which I will demonstrate when we reach that floor. All in all, I think as long as you're with somebody in that house it's okay." She looked at the three prefects. "Yeah?"

"I should say so," said Saorise.

"The Slytherin Common Room is hidden," said a snobbish Slytherin boy. "Nobody outside of Slytherin has ever seen it in a hundred years."

Hermione felt her eye twitch. She had zero patience for smug people who thought they were better than everyone else.

"Your Common Room is in the dungeons in the middle of a hall twenty feet past Professor Snape's office," she said. "And, let me guess, the password is pureblood?"

Tabatha St. Vincent sucked in a breath and her eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"She's Hermione Granger," said Cedric, looking mildly amused. "She knows everything and if there's something she doesn't know, then she finds out."

"Anyway. If you will continue to follow me, we will be reaching the fifth floor where you will find Professor Flitwick's office as well as the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room."

She led them to the circular area that was filled with couches and chairs for those who couldn't answer the riddles correctly and were stuck outside.

"To get into the Ravenclaw Common Room," said Hermione, tapping the knocker. "One must answer a riddle asked by this eagle right here."

The eagle came to life. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" said Hermione looking at the prefects

"Well, neither is a potato," Cedric replied. He paused and looked up, blush spreading from his cheeks. "Did I say that out loud?"

The first years giggled, but to everyone's surprise the eagle huffed loudly.

"I guess!"

The door swung open revealing the stairway.

"Hm… I guess there are multiple right answers to any riddle," said Hermione. She smirked and looked at Cedric. "I'm never letting that go."

"Yeah? And what are you going to do with all that tea?" he asked.

"Shut up! You… bray like a donkey."

"Oh, I bray like a donkey, do I?"

"What's in the bread?"

"You know exactly what's in the bread."

"Ugh, why did I teach you Spanish?" she groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "Never mind. New fun fact! There are multiple answers to riddles and being snarky can help."

Hermione finished off the inside tour without any more interruptions. She didn't show them the Room of Things. She didn't want to show them the Room of Things. That was where Cedric had his work room and it was their place to just be.

She led them all down to the Ground floor. It was twelve twenty-three and lunch was spread out in the Great Hall.

"You have all been a wonderful audience today," said Hermione. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, in a couple weeks I will be giving a self-defense seminar, and please, be nice to each other gosh darn it."

The first years applauded her, some more enthusiastically than others. Hermione took a bow and went to go eat lunch. Easy, peazy she had this year going very well so far. She sat down at the Ravenclaw table with Luna and ladled some soup into a bowl.

"Hello," said Luna. "How did the tour go?"

"Very well," said Hermione. "I don't think we'll have to worry about lost first years anymore. Save them from the wrath of Filch at least."

"Oh yes. I really liked your tour last year. Very informative. Do you want to study together this afternoon? Never too soon to start."

Hermione smiled. "I'd like that. Sounds like fun." She paused and noticed Luna had no shoes on. "Where are your shoes? Is it the… nargles again?"

"Father agreed that they steal things but do not affect humans this way," said Luna,

"I had no idea nargles were like that," said Hermione. "Are they like caiporas?"

"Ca-whats?" Luna asked furrowing her brow.

Oh… it wasn't often that Hermione knew of a creature Luna didn't.

"They're um… little imps," she said. "They play tricks and they're from South America. Like Peeves except worse."

"No… no, they aren't like that, nargles," said Luna. If Hermione was reading her social cues right, Luna was uncomfortable and wanted to move on.

"If you're having trouble you know you can talk to me, right?" said Hermione.

"Yes. I know. But my roommates— er— the nargles don't mean any harm."

After their study session, Hermione sought out Cedric and found him chatting with some friends before his prefect rounds started.

"Walk with me," she said. "We need to talk."

"Sure. What's up?"

At breakfast, Cedric strode over to the Ravenclaw table. Everyone's first thought was that he was going to attempt to patch things up with Cho. Instead, he passed right by her and sat down beside Luna giving her a cheerful side-hug.

"Morning, Looney-Tune," he said. When anyone else called Luna 'Loony' it always had a bite of malice but when Cedric said it, it was just a playful nickname that caused the girl to smile. "Sleep well?"

"Just fine, thank you," she said. "I believe I sleep-walked last night however. I found bugs and dirt in my bed this morning."

"Oh, really," said Cedric, staring at her roommates out of the corner of his eye. "Perhaps you should wear shoes to bed. Don't want to step on anything and hurt your feet."

"Oh! What a practical idea," said Luna brightening up.

"Anyway, I happen to be particularly good at finding things and I found where the nargles hid your stuff." He set his bag in his lap and took out shoes, ties, headbands, a pair of trousers, some books, and more than several pairs of socks. He then held up a pretty charm bracelet. "You know, if someone stole something that belonged to my mum, I'd be furious."

Luna gasped and took it from him, clasping it securely onto her wrist. She stiffened significantly and turned a cold gaze to her roommates. Cedric smiled serenely and as instantly as it disappeared, Luna's smile reappeared. At that moment it was evident they were related even as second-cousins.

"You let me know if those nargles are bothering you," said Cedric. "Can't have them messing with my favorite cousin now, can I?"

"Nargles aren't so easy to get rid of," said Luna.

"Perhaps not, but I happen to be very adept at spellcasting," he replied, sliding his wand out of his holster and tapping it against his forearm. "I don't know much about nargles, but I'm certain that hexes that cause hair loss or uncontrollable dancing or perhaps a curse to stick their tongues to the roofs of their mouths would do the trick."

"It's all right, Cedric," said Luna. "Truly. I can handle anything."

"Yeah, but a little help now and then doesn't hurt either," he reasoned. "Your hair's gotten dreadfully messy, too." He produced a hairbrush and began working on the ends. "I know you want to keep the wrackspurts at bay but perhaps we can find a charm to make your hair curly like Hermione's instead."

"Ooh! Now there's an idea," said Luna. "Thank you."

"No problem," he replied, passing her the brush, and patted her shoulder. "I've got to get to class but you just point me the way of the nargles and I'll take care of them."

The blonde gazed at her charm bracelet and the twinkle in her eyes dimmed.

"I think I just might."

Cedric whistled a cheerful tune as he strolled out of the Great Hall to get to his class. Luna had a feeling that she wouldn't have any more problems with her roommates.